Tis the Season
by DownToTheSea
Summary: A collection of Christmas-themed ficlets written for the 12 Days of Holiday Shipping challenge on Tumblr.
1. Ugly Sweaters

**Day 1: Ugly Sweaters**

* * *

"No," Nikola said. It wasn't possible, humanly or inhumanly, to reflect the level of disgust that he felt in his voice. "Just… no," was all he could manage.

"Come on man," Henry cajoled. "We're all supposed to do it." He held up the sweater, a horrible garish thing with candy canes and grinning snowmen parading across it with chaotic holiday spirit.

Nikola recoiled, unnecessarily smoothing down his tailored black waistcoat and eyeing the sweater with a look of abject horror. "You kiddies can wear those – those things." His chin stuck out determinedly. "I will _not."_

"It'll make Dr. Magnus laugh," Erika added in what she probably thought was a persuasive tone, exchanging looks with Henry.

"Oh yes, Helen laughing her head off at what an absolute fool I look is one of my most treasured goals," Nikola bit out.

"Aw, she wouldn't laugh because you looked stupid – "

"Even though you totally would," Kate put in from the other side of the room, where she was holding an equally dreadful sweater patterned with reindeer up to Bigfoot.

Henry glared at her before returning his attention to Nikola. "She'd laugh 'cause she loves you and she knows you'd never do anything like this except for her. Plus, I mean, it's just kinda fun..."

Henry kept speaking, but his voice was drowned out by a sudden rushing in Nikola's ears. "She loves you." Nikola had never heard anyone just… say it like that before.

It wasn't that she didn't tell him, less often in words than in the way she held his hand when no one was looking at them, or that sparkle in her eyes when she leaned in to talk about some point or other with him, or how she brightened when he came into her office with her afternoon tea. But hearing it from someone else was different.

Nikola was so used to having to defend the validity of his feelings for Helen from the (not entirely undeserved) suspicion of her team, but it seemed that, perhaps, someone finally believed him. Not only that, but the very reserved Helen had been so open with her own affection that the others had picked up on it. Henry had said it so casually, like it was a simple, obvious truth: Helen loved him, and everyone knew it.

" – you did, Hank," Kate was saying as Nikola started to tune back into the conversation. "You turned him into total mush. If Magnus sees him like that, she's gonna think we got him drunk on vampire tequila… again."

"Oh, don't be ridiculous," Nikola said sharply, quickly wiping away the foolish grin he now felt spreading over his face. "You children are far too immature to possibly understand the complexities of my relationship with Helen."

If anything, that only made Kate snicker more.

"Now," Nikola said, holding out his hand with the expression of a man going to his execution. "Give me the damn sweater."


	2. Decorating

**Day 3: Decorating**

* * *

By the time Nikola arrived, the annual Christmas tree decorating was in full swing.

Helen, forethinking genius that she was, had snuck their massive tree down along with the other things she'd saved from the old Sanctuary, and it was set up now in the entrance hall just as it always had been. Sure, the surroundings were a little shinier and newer than they used to be, but it gave the place a rather homelike atmosphere, even to Nikola, who had only lived at the old Sanctuary off and on.

Kate was perched on Bigfoot's shoulders to get at the top of the tree, as he handed her up strings of lights and golden beads and tinsel. The bottom half was done already, and Henry, Erika, Declan, and Will were hovering around applying ornaments here and there before heading back to the boxes that Helen was unpacking for more.

"Ah, this one was given to me by my dear Amelia," she said in a reminiscent tone as she unwrapped a carved figurine, depicting a sled above painted clouds. "Shortly before her last flight."

"Wait, you mean… Amelia Earhart?" Will asked.

"Of course she means Amelia Earhart, Junior," Nikola said as he swept in. Helen hung the ornament up with a lingering fond look and returned to the box.

"Is there any famous person from history she doesn't know?" Will muttered to Henry, who shook his head.

Nikola kissed Helen on the cheek. "You'll be pleased to know your faulty force field out in the south passage is now working like a charm, my dear."

Helen smiled. "Thank you, Nikola. Now get to work."

"No rest for the wicked," he said, grinning, and took out a neatly wrapped package from the box of decorations.

Before long they had reached a part where Nikola knew every one of the ornaments and its accompanying story, and he and Helen were still reminiscing about the Christmas of '25, to mixed delight and annoyance from their companions, when the last one was placed on the tree.

"And if Helen hadn't shot me when she did, well…"

"Best not to think about it," Helen finished. "But it all turned out for the best."

"I'll say. Oh, that cold Christmas day we had to spend up in the mountains…" Nikola smirked.

"How come every story of theirs involves Magnus shooting him?" Kate whispered to Henry.

"It's how Helen shows her love for me," Nikola said grandly. "Isn't that right, dearest?"

"I could show you some love right now if you'd like," Helen said, though there was no threat and a fair amount of amusement in her voice.

"Mmm, by all means."

"Hey, are we ready to try the lights out?" Henry asked a bit desperately, since Helen and Nikola were edging closer by the second, Nikola with his smile widening and Helen with a spark in her eyes.

Helen held Nikola's gaze for a moment more before she pulled back and turned to Henry. "Not quite." She lifted out the star that would go on top of the tree and passed it to Nikola.

"As our newest official member, you may do the honors," she said.

"Newest?" he echoed. With a quick wave of his hands, he lifted the star magnetically and began levitating it towards the tree. "Helen, I've been helping you and your Sanctuary for over a century, I think I deserve some seniority."

"Newest official member," Helen clarified. "And oldest unofficial member. You are quite the contradiction, Nikola."

"Oh, that's why you like me."

The star was settled on the tip of the tree and Nikola beamed. He made a show of dusting off his hands and turned to Helen.

"Uh oh," Henry said.

"Cool it, wolf-boy," Nikola said irritably. "I was only going to exchange more witty repartee with Helen, nothing remotely inappropriate for your young eyes and ears. Although…"

"Not you," he said. Nikola turned again and realized Henry was examining the tree. "Lights aren't turning on. I think we need a new extension cord."

"There's no hurry," Helen said. "We won't be officially lighting it until tonight." Seeing Nikola's look, she explained. "Only a few of the residents celebrate Christmas, but it's become a bit of a ceremony."

"I'm gonna go grab a new cord," Henry told her, halfway out of the room already. "Just wanna make sure they're working before everybody's here."

Helen inclined her head. "Of course."

Taking this as a dismissal to everyone else, Kate announced she was heading to the kitchen for a snack, and Bigfoot and Declan followed her, though it was likely Bigfoot was only doing so to protect his kitchen from the tornado that was Kate. Will and Erika excused themselves to get some work done, leaving Helen and Nikola alone in the entrance hall.

Nikola walked over to the tree, tilting his head and examining it. Then he reached up and touched one of the many strings of connected lights.

They came to life, some twinkling gold and others a rainbow of bright color.

"Much better," Nikola said, and glanced over as Helen came to his side. "Really adds some spark to the place, doesn't it? You know, much like a certain roguish, charming vampire?"

"Is _everything_ an opportunity for you to talk about yourself?" Helen raised her eyebrows.

"You're right, my dear. I should talk about you instead. For instance, how these golden lights remind me of that dress you wore in Vienna... remember?"

"Would that be the one I ruined running through the catacombs later in the evening?" Her smirk deepened and she stepped closer, barely an inch away from being pressed up right against him. Nikola became suddenly aware of how _warm_ she was, and how very close, and he felt his eyes being drawn to her lips like a magnet.

"And then I ruined it a little more later…?" he murmured.

"I remember," Helen whispered. She leaned forward and Nikola jerked back, causing her to lose her balance and teeter slightly before catching herself.

"Nikola," she exclaimed, her brow furrowing.

"Sorry, my dear," he said with a rueful smile. He'd been so wrapped up in Helen he had completely forgotten he had an electric current running through him at the moment. "Didn't want to electrocute you."

"Ah. Yes, of course." Helen cleared her throat, and Nikola realized something.

"You forgot too," he said in growing amazement, then added smugly, "Why, Helen, I do believe you badly wanted to kiss me just now."

He was expecting her to give him a cool look and say, "Don't let it go to your head."

Instead, she gave him a cool look and said, "Nikola, if you don't take your hand off those bloody lights and kiss me this instant, I'm going to lock the wine cellar for a month."

Nikola immediately released the bloody lights, closed the distance between them, and kissed Helen very thoroughly indeed, melting into her as her arms wrapped around his neck.

His eyes were closed and most of his concentration was on Helen, but after a moment he became aware of brightness beyond his eyelids; he pulled back and opened his eyes, and realized that all of the lights were glowing, even without his channeling power directly into them.

Helen was smiling at him. "Ah, Nikola. You just couldn't resist, could you?"

Nikola kissed her again tenderly, the lights pulsing next to them. "I assure you it was totally unconscious, my dear."

Helen pulled him to her again, but she didn't kiss him this time, just held him tightly against her, her fingers twining through his messy hair. "I suppose it's fitting, in a way," she said, more to herself than him.

Nikola breathed in deeply and exhaled, nuzzling Helen's neck. "Why's that?"

"Light," she said softly. "You and light…" Her tone changed abruptly. "Well, it's what you're famous for, after all."

Nikola swallowed. That wasn't at all what she'd meant, but… "Rightfully so. Though that bastard Edison stole most of my laurels, you know." He gave her a lopsided grin.

Crinkles sprang up around her eyes. "A travesty, my dear Nikola."

"I'm glad you agree, my dear Helen."

After that the lights blazed even brighter than before, but neither one of them noticed.


	3. Shopping

**Day 4: Shopping**

* * *

"Hey, Tesla!" Kate straightened from where she was bending over the clearance rack. "I found the perfect gift for you to give to Magnus."

Nikola turned, taking an effort to avoid touching any of the numerous clamoring shoppers around him. This place was a nightmare: a huge mall downtown filled with loud annoying people from top to bottom, all of them buying the cheapest and most ridiculous things to give to their loved ones for Christmas.

Why on earth they were stopping _here_ during their shopping trip through the city, Nikola didn't know. Surely Helen had better taste than anything sold by this… establishment.

"Check it out," Kate said, and pulled out a very battered stuffed vampire, felt fangs grinning. "I think it fell back here after Halloween and no one noticed it."

Nikola sneered. "As if I'd ever give Helen – " He was interrupted by a middle-aged man jostling him, and hissed at the man's retreating back.

"Hey, don't vamp out at the mall," Kate urged. "I already had to promise Magnus I'd keep you away from anything you could brag about inventing."

"What, you mean the whole store?"

"Oh man, here we go," Henry muttered as he came over. He brightened when he saw what Kate held. "Dude, I'm gonna get that and put it where Tesla has to look at it all day."

"I'm right here, you know," Nikola said, annoyed.

Kate poked the vampire. "He's a little beat up. Look, his cape is all wrinkled." She held him up. "Don't be ridiculous, you children wouldn't know good tailoring if it beat you over the heads!" she said, wiggling the vampire at Henry. "Did I mention I'm sleeping with your boss?"

Even Nikola had to admit the impression wasn't too far off, but that didn't stop him from hissing again and making a grab for the toy, intending to shred it to pieces.

"Hey!" Kate protested, shielding it. "Keep your claws to yourself."

"Yeah, come on," Henry chimed in. "After all, you know what the doc says…"

"Sanctuary for all is not an empty motto," they finished together.

Nikola growled before spinning on his heel and stalking out. Behind him, he heard Henry and Kate collapse into a fit of laughter.

* * *

Close proximity to Nikola proved rather dangerous to the little stuffed vampire's survival, so a few weeks later, Helen rescued it and transferred it to a shelf in her private office. Nikola would have preferred it be stuck away someplace in a dusty attic, but Helen seemed so amused at the whole affair that he didn't complain.

After all, he was still her favorite vampire.


	4. Snowball Fight

**Day 5: Snowball Fight**

* * *

"Well, the children seem to be enjoying themselves." Nikola came over to stand next to Helen on the winding path through the Hollow Earth Sanctuary.

Helen smiled at him. "That they do."

Tentatively, he reached out and touched her hand, feeling a rush of warmth when she laced their fingers together more firmly. The most recent step in their relationship (which also involved him spending most of his nights and mornings in Helen's room rather than his own) was still so new, he didn't think he'd ever get used to being able to simply hold her hand in front of everyone like this.

A little ways beyond them, in what had until recently been a wide open grassy lawn, the rest of the team and a few of the residents were playing in several feet of newly fallen snow. Helen and Nikola had worked on the weather systems for days until they managed to introduce snow into the artificial climate down here, and now everyone was enjoying the fruits of their labors.

A rather competitive snowball fight had started up amongst the Sanctuary team; in a few more minutes, snow was flying back and forth across the lawn, accompanied by shouts and laughter.

"Well?" Nikola gestured towards the snowball fight. "Come on, between my vampirism and your general badassery, they'll never know what hit them."

"Perhaps they'd prefer a more level playing field."

Just then, a very large wet snowball hit Nikola square in the face. He spluttered and hissed, wiping it away from his eyes and glaring in the general direction it had come from.

"Or perhaps not," Helen said, laughing. "I believe you've been challenged."

He turned to her with a plaintive look. "And will my fair Helen come and fight by my side?"

Her lips twitched. "And protect you from the evils of snow getting on your suit?"

"Of course. We may even have to snuggle by the fire when we're done. You know, just to warm up."

"Naturally." Helen regarded him for a moment before stepping out onto the snow with him. "Very well, Nikola. Let us see what we're capable of."


	5. Baking

**Day 8: Baking**

* * *

"Voila! Your Christmas feast, prepared with astounding skill, as always, by yours truly." After settling the tray he was carrying on Helen's lap, Nikola swept into an elaborate bow.

"Nikola…" Helen looked at the tray. "It's a pot of tea."

"It is. Made _exactly_ how you like it."

"I have no doubt." In all their years together, Helen had never known Nikola to make her a subpar cup of tea: a particularly attractive quality, she privately thought. "But I would hardly call it a Christmas feast."

Nikola sat down on the edge of the bed next to her, waving a careless hand. "Oh, well, your hairy butler is coming up with the rest."

Helen's lips quirked. "Somehow, I doubt that the rest was prepared by mine truly."

"Oh Helen, my dear…" Nikola fluttered his hand over his heart. "You know how much I love it when you call me that."

"Perhaps if I had ever called you that before, I might. You're not fooling me, Nikola." She leveled a hard gaze at him. "I know why you're doing this."

He leaned forward, his eyes sparkling. "Enlighten me."

Helen leaned in too, even if the motion made the fresh stitches in her arm burn with pain. "You're trying to distract me."

A recent unfortunate encounter with the poisoned fangs of a giant salamander had left Helen on strict orders of bedrest. Much to her chagrin, these orders had come from herself. (She had tried to argue that she had been half-delirious from the venom when she'd given them. After all, she had also told Nikola his eyes looked like the sea after a storm, which was of course utter nonsense.) Naturally, Helen would have preferred being up and about, but a particularly pesky vampire kept finding excuses to keep her in bed.

Nikola's eyes flicked to her lips before returning to meet hers, his mouth curving in a smirk. "Is it working?"

By now they were so close that they were almost kissing; there was only the barest distance separating Helen's mouth from Nikola's, and he closed his eyes.

"Not especially," she whispered, and pulled back.

Nikola stayed frozen there for a second before his eyes opened. His smirk remained. "I seem to recall distracting you pretty effectively the other day, at that gala in London – "

"Yes, well," Helen interrupted loudly. If the big guy really was on his way up, the last thing she wanted was for him to be party to the details of that (quite pleasant) diversion. "My point is that it won't work this time."

"Why not?" Nikola rested his chin on his hand, gazing at her plaintively, though there was still a spark of mischief in his eyes. "Have I lost my edge?"

She chuckled. "You've never had an edge, Nikola. Or if you do, I know you too well for it to work on me."

"Then what? Don't tell me my charming personality isn't enough."

"It's Christmas," Helen went on, ignoring this. "It's not as if I'm going to dive headfirst into a den of vipers."

"1935?" was all Nikola said, his eyebrows going up.

She gave him an annoyed look. "So soon after an injury," she added.

"1921," he said, still with that infuriating innocent expression. "Oh, and '44. And '39. Twice. And last year. And 1909."

"You were in America then!"

"James told me about it. And '28."

"Bloody hell," Helen growled.

"Face it, my dear, those heroic tendencies of yours are admirable, not to mention _incredibly_ hot, but they have drawbacks. Not the least of which is that now I'm gonna have to go downstairs into the kiddies' little gathering," he wrinkled up his nose in distaste, "and ask Wolf-Girl if you can get up for a couple hours after all."

With a satisfied smirk, Helen fell back on the pillows. "Very good."

"You know, this counts as your Christmas gift this year, right?" Nikola said hopefully.

"Sorry, Nikola, Henry already told me you're hiding something in your laboratory for me, so you can't save it until next year."

"Damn. Well…" Nikola leaned over and kissed Helen's forehead. "I'll be back soon. Remember, I'm under strict orders from the love of my life not to let you jump into any viper dens, so I expect no more than the usual amount of weapons on your person once you're dressed."

Helen raised her eyebrow. "And how will you know?"

"Ooh!" Nikola grinned. "That sounds like a challenge."

"Perhaps it is. Now hurry along, Nikola, because if I stay in this room for another ten minutes I shall certainly lose my mind."

Still grinning, he squeezed her hand, winked, and left, leaving Helen to look about for just enough weapons to make things interesting.


	6. Snowed In

**Day Seven: Snowed In**

* * *

"Look at me," Nikola grumbled as he and Helen trudged through the thick snow. "The things I do for love. I can assure you, Helen, that no one else on this planet would have been able to get me into a – a – a _puffy jacket."_ He hissed the last few words as if they were a curse.

"You're warm, aren't you?" Helen asked, only half listening. Nikola had been complaining about the winter fashion (or lack thereof) for a good hour, and she was focused on the task at hand. They were tracking a wyvern through the mountains, one which had clearly been injured in some way. It kept taking off in odd jerking flights and then landing a short distance away.

Short for the wyvern, but not so short that it was easy to follow with human eyes, certainly not with snowflakes whirling through the air with increasing speed and volume. At each set of tracks, they had to stop and scan the horizon for a while until they spotted the next one.

"You tell me," Nikola said, inching as close as the knee-high snow and half a dozen layers of coats he was wearing would allow.

She took one look at him and snorted. He certainly presented a different sight than he usually did, all sleek elegance in his tailored waistcoats. Now he was wrapped up in sweaters and coats with a huge blue scarf (a gift from Helen) wrapped around his neck and a rather lumpy wool hat (from Bigfoot, who had officially adopted Nikola into the fold).

Helen supposed she was no more graceful of a sight, but it was amusing nonetheless, particularly when Nikola started up with his usual flirtations.

But before she could respond, a roar had split the sky above them. Helen spun around, scanning their surroundings until a huge grey shadow passed right overhead, and the wyvern landed heavily in front of them, kicking up a wave of snow.

It was definitely injured; its right wing looked like it had been broken somehow, held stiffly against its body at an odd angle. The poor creature seemed to be in agony, its violet eyes burning as it let out another roar.

It took off again, awkwardly jumping nearly a quarter of a mile away, and Helen started in pursuit. It was large enough that she wasn't sure if a stunner blast would knock it out, but she didn't see any alternative.

She had a head start on Nikola, who had stumbled during the first landing and was less accustomed to running in climates like this: even his vampiric speed didn't help him much in the deep snow.

This time Helen was able to catch up to the wyvern before it took off again, but as she approached, she realized that might not have been such a good thing after all. It had seen her, and blinded with pain, it was liable to lash out at anyone who came close.

As she pulled out her stunner and aimed, it swung its uninjured wing out, striking the nearby mountainside with booming force. At first, nothing happened, and then a huge cascade of snow dislodged itself and began falling toward her with alarming speed.

"Oh, bloody hell," Helen muttered. She turned and ran back towards Nikola, gesturing for him to retreat as well. He stood frozen, no doubt torn between following her orders and running forward to her, even if he'd be no help at all.

The wyvern screeched behind her, taking off again, and the powerful beat of its wing knocked Helen off her feet, sending her sprawling into the snow. The avalanche was almost on her; all she had time to do was look up, glad to see Nikola finally obeying her, before the snow rushed over her.

* * *

The first thing Helen thought when she woke up was that she was quite cold, and a hot cup of tea would have been lovely. The second was that she felt very light and floaty for someone who should have been buried under several feet of snow.

When her eyes opened, she discovered the reason: she was not, in fact, buried under an avalanche. She was clasped in Nikola's arms as he trotted through the snowdrifts, so concentrated on something ahead of him that he hadn't yet noticed she was awake. Most of his extra coats were bundled up around her, forming a sort of cocoon, and he was visibly shivering.

"Nikola," she said, or tried to: all that came out was a mumbled, "Nik…"

It was enough, though. Nikola's eyes widened and his head jerked down to meet her eyes, a grin spreading across his face. "Helen!"

"You're underdressed," she told him, still feeling as if she hadn't woken up completely.

"Well, usually I prefer hearing the opposite, but I guess I'll take anything as long as you're awake," he said. "How are you feeling?"

"In need of information. I thought I told you to get clear."

"Helen, dearest, you know how bad I am at following orders," he said, grinning down at her.

She raised an eyebrow. "Really? I seem to recall otherwise. At least in certain situations."

"Mmm, well, just stay awake a little longer and we can see who's right. Anyway, I _did_ follow your orders. But you never said I couldn't come back for you after the snow settled."

"I suppose not. How long…?"

"A few minutes." Nikola sounded a bit grim, and he nestled her closer in his arms.

If he hadn't come back when he did, Helen could have been in quite dire straits. "Thank you, Nikola," she said, disentangling one arm from the coats and patting his cheek, moving with difficulty. "And the wyvern?"

"Gone."

"Are you following it?"

Nikola stared at her, several emotions warring on his face. "I love you," he finally said with fervor, and kissed her very briefly. "No, my dear, I'm not following it. You were unconscious five minutes ago, and your body temperature is even lower than mine right now. Last I checked, you were usually the hot one, so that's kinda the priority right now."

"Oh, nonsense, I'm fine."

"That may be, but as long as I'm acting as your personal vampiric taxi service, we're heading for shelter and warmth, not tracking overgrown escapees from _Game of Thrones."_ Nikola nodded to something in front of him. "Look, we're almost here anyway."

Helen twisted to see a small cabin maybe a hundred feet away. "And where is here?" she asked, still irritated at Nikola's presumption.

"My private cabin which I've owned for decades, longing to spirit you away here and make love to you while snowflakes fly artistically outside our window and a fire crackles in the hearth, burning almost as hot as our unbridled passion."

"...Nikola."

"Ok, I have no idea who owns this place," he said, shrugging. "But I saw it a couple minutes ago and it's way closer than heading all the way back down the mountain tonight, and you were already so cold…" He trailed off, and through the smarm she saw that he looked strained and a little bit lost, and despite her annoyance her heart went out to him.

After all, if their positions had been reversed, if Helen had dug Nikola out of an avalanche and found him unconscious and frozen… She probably would have done the exact same thing.

Nikola carried her up the steps and stopped at the door, closing his eyes and tilting his head. There was a faint hum, it sprung open, and he grinned.

"So much for knocking. Remind me to install some non-magnetic locks," Helen said.

"Oh, Helen, let me enjoy this moment," Nikola said as he entered the cabin. "One of us carrying the other across the threshold is a particular favorite fantasy of mine, you know."

"I'm well aware, Nikola."

Grinning, he kicked the door shut behind them. "Don't worry about upsetting the owners, Helen. Vampire, remember? I don't smell any people except us around for miles."

"Perhaps, but you might take a bit more care with the place," she pointed out.

It was quite a lovely little cabin, furnished in a warm, old-fashioned style. There was a small sitting room, and a couple of doors branching off into a kitchen and bedroom, and that was about it. Everything was covered in a fine layer of dust, but for the most part it looked as if it had been only recently left by its owner.

Nikola laid her gently on the couch, leaning over and planting a kiss on her forehead. "Be right back," he whispered, and hurried off.

Divested of Nikola's warmth and feeling rather shaky despite the soft couch cushions she was resting on, Helen let her head fall back and closed her eyes, trying not to shiver too hard. Around her she could hear Nikola whirling about the cabin like a concerned, electromagnetic tornado; before she knew it he had a fire roaring in the hearth and a pot of tea bubbling in the kitchen, and then he returned and said, "Now off with your clothes, my dear."

She allowed him to take her hand and help her to her feet. Amusingly, he turned around as soon as she was standing, without even a warning from her.

"You're acting quite the gentleman today," she said, beginning to undress as best she could with her shivering getting worse.

"Only acting, my dear," Nikola said cheerfully, going over to the door and rummaging around in the backpack he'd dropped there when they first came in. "If you're disappointed, I'd be more than happy to help you take off your clothes; it is, after all, one of my favorite pastimes."

Helen actually hesitated; it might have been useful to have the help, as her fingers were icy and clumsy and it was taking every ounce of energy she had just to stand. But even to Nikola, her oldest and dearest friend, there was a part of her that balked at admitting she needed assistance.

"After extolling your own virtues, perhaps," she said instead.

"There are just so many!" Nikola found what he was looking for and stood up. "Are you done yet?"

"No," she said testily. "Because someone decided to wrap every spare item of clothing they had around me."

"I would have wrapped my arms around you if I'd thought it would have done any good, but vampires aren't exactly known for their high body heat," Nikola said glumly.

She didn't tell him, but right now she was so cold she suspected even a vampire would feel toasty warm compared to her.

"Nikola, you did wrap your arms around me." Helen finally removed the last coat and put it on the growing pile. Her shirt buttons were next, which came close to defeating her fingers, but she pressed on.

"Yeah, that was mostly for my benefit." Nikola was quiet for a second. "...Are you done yet?"

"Oh, get over here," Helen growled.

To her surprise, he didn't say a word as he crossed the room, and instead of helping her with her buttons, he pulled her into his arms. He held her tight for just a moment. "I'm glad you're alright," he said in a whisper before releasing her. "Now, I believe my talents are needed."

With Nikola's help, it was only a short time before Helen had shed the rest of her cold, wet clothes and was dressed in a spare shirt of Nikola's.

"You brought a spare dress shirt into the mountains?"

"You never know when I might need to change," he said. "I could spill wine, or you could shoot me. Better to be prepared."

Still, Helen was glad of it. Nikola's shirt was soft and smelled of him, and after he heaped every blanket he could find in the cabin on top of her, Helen finally began to feel as if she might remember what being warm was like after a while. By that time the tea was ready, so she sipped a cup while Nikola knelt behind her and wrung out her hair, which had acquired a fair amount of melted snow.

Then he would have brushed it, except that Helen said, "Nikola, what do you think you're doing?"

"Tenderly caring for you?"

"You could do that much better if you'd get onto this bloody couch with me."

"Oh, I thought you'd never ask."

Nikola slid underneath the blankets with her and squeezed onto the couch. She was now cozily wrapped up in blankets with the back of the couch on one side and Nikola's warmth on the other.

"Much better," she mumbled as one of his arms wrapped around her.

Ordinarily, Nikola was just slightly cooler than she was; now, he felt almost too warm, but Helen welcomed the change from her own shivers, and curled into his chest with a contented sigh.

"Why, Helen, you're enjoying yourself," Nikola said with a grin.

"Don't let it go to your head."

"Never." He shifted a little closer. "Is it helping?"

"More than you know," Helen said, a little more honestly than she had been intending to, but it was difficult to remain distant when Nikola was happily snuggled up to her. "But don't think this gets you off the hook. As soon as we're both warm, we're going back out there and finding that wyvern."

"My dear, I had expected nothing less." Nikola kissed her damp hair. "So, while we're waiting, what do you want to do?"

"I'm sure you have plenty of ideas," she answered dryly.

"Ideas are my life. Though right now I'm running a little low on practical ones…"

"Whyever could that be." Helen chuckled against his chest.

"I must be distracted." Nikola wrapped his other arm around her and nuzzled her. "Let's see… I spy something that begins with the letter 'L'."

Helen laughed at that. "Good God, Nikola, we're not children at summer camp."

"Well, are you gonna guess or not?"

Shaking her head, Helen leaned back against him. "Light," she said.

"Nope."

"Lamp."

"No."

"...Nikola."

Nikola grinned. "That doesn't start with 'L', should I be worried about a head injury?"

"I know what you were thinking of."

"Oh? Tell me then."

Helen told him, at length, until they both ran out of breath. Then they fell silent, curled up next to each other and pressing an occasional kiss to each other's face or neck, while the snowflakes flew by outside.


	7. Gift-Giving

**Day 12: Gift-Giving**

* * *

Nikola wasn't quite sure how he had first gotten roped into helping Helen wrap gifts every Christmas Eve at midnight, but it had happened, and he didn't regret it. After all, it gave him a chance to sit next to her, arms bumping, and talk for a few hours. And according to Helen, one of his claws was better at neat paper slicing than any pair of scissors she'd ever owned.

They had just put the finishing touches on the last package, and Nikola was about to propose they go to bed but not to sleep for a few hours before the kiddies all woke up and demanded their gifts, but Helen was gazing pensively off into the distance, looking almost… nervous.

A pang of worry shot through his chest, and he quickly racked his brains for anything that might be going on to trouble her, or whether he had screwed anything really important up lately. But he couldn't come up with anything. Apparently his efforts to be slightly more responsible were paying off.

"Helen?" he ventured, taking her hands in his and stroking them. "Are you, uh, are you alright?"

Helen shook herself and seemed to return to the present, smiling at him. "Yes, of course. Thank you, Nikola." She squeezed his hands. "But I have a present for you this year I'd prefer to give you before the others wake up."

"Oh?" Nikola kissed her hands. "My dear, simply being in your presence is the only gift I could ever desire."

She snorted. "You didn't say no to the lab upgrade I gave you last year."

"Well…" He grinned. "It's nice to be appreciated. But since we're giving gifts early, I have one for you too. Might as well keep it out of the grubby hands of the children." He rose and went over to the tree, drawing out a meticulously-wrapped package from underneath it, then went back to Helen and held it out.

"Merry Christmas," he said rather awkwardly. It was his turn to feel nervous, because usually he gave her things like books and gadgets and promises not to make sarcastic remarks about Junior for such and such a period of time. Open sentimentality was very seldom Helen's style.

Helen unwrapped it just as neatly as it had been wrapped, partly because it wasn't in her nature to tear gifts open, and partly to indulge him. There was a smooth wooden box inside, and she slid the lid off. Her eyes widened and she looked at him suddenly.

"Nikola," she whispered, and lifted out a small, perfect model of the Old City Sanctuary. Nikola had made it almost entirely from memory, although he'd had to scavenge a set of blueprints to fill in the few sections he had never been in. He'd started it the Christmas he'd arrived in Hollow Earth, and it had taken him several years of working on it between his other projects to finish it.

He smiled at her tentatively. "Open it," he said. Helen carefully lifted off one section of roof and her eyes widened even more.

Nikola did nothing by half. Inside the little Sanctuary were replicas of every room in the building, with tiny pieces of furniture and painted on carpets and wallpaper. There was Helen's office, with her desk and a miniscule bottle of wine on it (Nikola had to leave his signature somewhere), and the library they'd discovered the map to Hollow Earth in, and the laboratories, and the butler's kitchen, and the old chapel. Every place she'd known and loved for over half a century was present.

Then the worry came back, because Nikola could see tears in her eyes and he thought he'd gone too far, until she set it down gently and threw her arms around him, nearly crushing him against her.

"Nikola," she said again, voice muffled in his chest but definitely uneven, and squeezed him so hard Nikola felt like his ribs were in a vise.

"Ow," he said faintly, but made no move to lighten her grip. "So do you like it? If you don't, if it, you know, brings back bad memories or anything, then you can throw it out – "

"No," was the firm answer, accompanied by another bruising hug. "No, Nikola, it's – it's perfect."

The vise was lifted as one of Helen's arms moved up, across his shoulders, and she cradled his head, stroking his hair. "Thank you, Nikola," she murmured. "My dear Nikola."

Nikola felt rather warm and dizzy for a few minutes following this, though he wasn't sure if it was the endearment or the oxygen deprivation. Either way, he folded his arms around Helen and nuzzled her hair until she finally released him, her eyes bright.

"Now for your gift," she said, and pulled out a small box from the pile of wrapping paper and other gifts. He thought her hand shook infinitesimally when she handed it to him, but then he blinked and she was steady once more.

The box was plain black, and Nikola took off the lid, his curiosity mounting. What on earth could Helen possibly be unsure of giving him?

When he saw what lay within, he was even more confused. It was only a pocket watch – a lovely one, bright silver with a beautiful engraving of a single old-fashioned street lamp and scrollwork all around it, and the ancient vampiric rune for "light" hidden amongst the patterns, a dramatic touch worthy of Nikola himself. But nothing more than a watch.

Normally, Nikola never even carried one, since he could already tell to the second what time it was at any given moment. Helen knew that, which meant she had another purpose in giving this to him.

He looked up to see the nervous expression back on her face before she wiped it away. "Open it," she told him, her lips quirking at the echo of his own words.

So Nikola opened it, and felt the breath rush out of him again.

It wouldn't have meant much to anyone else, though something about it felt so intensely private that he understood why she had given it to him early.

Inside, opposite the elaborate clock face, was a picture of Helen, taken in the last few years. In fact, Nikola had been present when Henry took it, trying out a new camera he was going to use to make yet another album for his (at that time) unborn daughter.

Helen was looking somewhere off to the side, where Nikola would have been. He hadn't been looking at her when this picture was taken, though, because he would have remembered seeing this expression on her face: open, almost tender affection, mixed in with a sort of quiet joy.

Just being able to see Helen looking at him like that whenever he wanted would have been enough to take Nikola's breath away, but then he realized that it was even more than that: the last time she had given someone a token like this, it hadn't ended well, to say the least. To Nikola, this was her way of saying she had faith in their relationship, and in him.

"Helen…" His voice broke a little in the middle, but since her lips were nearly on his by then, it didn't seem like she cared. Keeping the pocket watch clasped in one hand, he wound both arms around her and held on tight.

Neither of them let go until Christmas morning.


End file.
